Cindy Sheehan lost her son, 24-year-old Army Specialist Casey Sheehan in Baghdad on April 4, 2004. Now, she is holding a vigil outside of President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch where the president plans to spend most of August on vacation. Sheehan told reporters she will continue her protest outside the ranch for the entire month of August until she gets the opportunity to speak to Mr. Bush.
Just this past Wednesday, the president claimed that the sacrifices of American soldiers who died in the U.S-led invasion and occupation of Iraq were 'made in a noble cause.'
Ms. Sheehan was not pleased with the president's comments.
'I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son?' Sheehan told reporters on Sunday. 'He said my son died in a noble cause, and I want to ask him what that noble cause is.'
Ms. Sheehan had met with Mr. Bush last June and she was very disappointed with the actions and demeanor of Mr. Bush.
'He wouldn't look at the pictures of Casey. He didn't even know Casey's name,' Sheehan told CNN. 'Every time we tried to talk about Casey and how much we missed him, he would change the subject.'
'I want him to honor my son by bringing the troops home immediately,' Sheehan told reporters Saturday. 'I don't want him to use my son's name or my name to justify any more killing.'
Sheehan is a co-founder of the group Gold Star Families for Peace. The group favors the immediate withdrawal of American troops from Iraq according to a posting on its Web site.
Approximately 50 protesters joined Ms. Sheehan on Saturday and started a march towards the Bush ranch in Crawford. They were stopped by local law enforcement officials miles before they got near the president's compound.
Politicians from both parties were sympathetic to Ms. Sheehan's plight.
What you're seeing with that mom trying to meet with President Bush is echoes of Vietnam,' said Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California. 'Because no one is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.' Boxer added, 'I would tell her to do everything she could to spare other families this grief, to get us off this cycle of violence.'
Virginia Republican Senator George Allen encouraged Mr. Bush to speak to Ms. Sheehan. 'I think the president ought to meet with this mother,' Senator Allen said. 'What I would say to her is her son will always be remembered as a great hero and a patriot, advanced freedom in Iraq and the Middle East, has made this country more secure.'
The war in Iraq has continued to become less and less popular. According to a 'Newsweek' poll released on Sunday, 64 percent of Americans do not believe the war in Iraq has made Americans safer while 61 percent say they disapprove of the way President Bush is handling the war.
The growing opposition to the war will not do anything to bring back Casey Sheehan. And perhaps that message is something his mother wants Mr. Bush to understand.
